If you visit any Alvin ISD campus, one thing you will likely see is a police officer in uniform.
The vast majority of these are officers within the Alvin ISD Police Department that is run by Chief Mike Putnal, a longtime officer with the Galveston Police Department who joined the school district police department nine years ago.
So, what exactly is a school district police officer? The answer is simple — fully certified, the vast majority very experienced police who choose to work with students. Putnal admits it’s not for everyone, but the number of officers who would prefer to work in school districts, and Alvin ISD in particular, is growing.
Right now, Putnal has 150 applicants for a few open positions. But even with a large number of applicants, Putnal said the majority won’t make the cut. When it comes to choosing officers, he is very picky.
“We prefer five years experience so we know we’re getting officers who have seen or responded to almost anything they’ll see here,” Putnal said. “We take so seriously our duty to protect our kids, and we take so seriously our service model. If there are any officers who don’t have the servant’s heart, we’re not going to hire them.”
The servant’s heart is key to what Putnal is trying to do at Alvin ISD. Yes, the officers train routinely on handling big incidents, shootings or other incidents on campus. But more than that, officers are expected to be on campus where they can be role models, sometimes friends and always visible.
“We recognize what’s in the community is what’s in our schools, and some of the students don’t have appropriate role models in their lives,” Putnal said. “Some of the best role models they have are in school with teachers, coaches and police officers. Our police understand that.”
Putnal is a perfect example. He spent his entire career with the Galveston PD, working his way up to running the gang unit. While he enjoyed taking down the big criminals, he said “fate takes you on different paths.”
One such path was when he was made a liaison between the Galveston PD and the Galveston ISD police.
“I found out I enjoyed it a little more than I thought,” he said. “That started me down this path.”
He was recruited by a former Alvin ISD chief nine years ago and made chief when the position opened up more than six years ago. Under his leadership, serving students has become the No. 1 goal.
“It’s a lot of rewards,” he said. “We felt strongly about creating a culture in the police department of service, and I think we accomplished that.”
Putnal said the stories he enjoys hearing are ones where an officer impacts a student’s life without tragedy occurring.
One student was having suicidal thoughts, but every time she had the thoughts, she would turn to the officer on campus, who would help her through it.
Because building relationships and being seen is important, Putnal said the same officers will be on the same campuses almost every day.
Being on campus and seeing the same kids day after day and year after year is a good thing, Putnal said.
“They become a surrogate parent to the kids,” he said. “These are my kids — they’re extraordinarily protective.”
At all grade levels, there will be officers on campus every day. Putnal said if his officers can’t be there, the district works with city and state departments to make sure someone is at the school in uniform every day.
Ultimately, the No. 1 goal is to keep students safe. Putnal understands the fear most parents have is a mass shooting, similar to what happened in Santa Fe in May. While he hopes it never has to be used, the entire department routinely trains to be ready just in case. If there was a shooting, he said he has no doubt every officer in the department would run to the shooting to stop it as fast as possible.
But there’s so much more to being a police officer on campus. They are meant to be part friend, part teacher, part enforcer. And to get there, they are always learning.
Training is routine — whether it’s active shooter or learning how to de-escalate an emotional situation.
“The typical ISD officer has three times the training of a municipal officer,” Putnal said. “We tend to be a little ahead of the curve, which I’m proud of.”
That training, the extreme vetting before hiring and a culture of service has made a department Putnal is proud of.
“I think we have a really good group,” he said. “I know they’re highly committed. Everyone has their own unique skill sets, me included.”